Cabin 2014

Guys! I had a Diet Dr. Pepper a few hours ago, the baby is asleep, Deg let me use his computer (it's a Christmas miracle!), so I am posting about the cabin the day after we got back rather than a year or two after. What in the what?! I know. Hold on, it's gonna be amazing.

For those of you who don't know, my dad's parents own a cabin on Hebgen Lake, which is just outside of West Yellowstone, Montana. And for those of you who don't know, that is what heaven is going to look like. Don't argue with me - I know I'm right on this one! Anyway, the week of the 4th of July was my family's week for the cabin. As the retired one in the family, I got to spend the whole week there with Deej and my parents. The rest of the siblings came and went, though to be fair, Ryan was there almost as long as I was, and poor Deg only got 2 days worth of cabin. I will now share a plethora of pics and stories and videos. Don't skip anything, because I'm saving the stories for last, and I have one that includes me running around the cabin in my undies. Be prepared, y'all!

From top left to bottom right: Grandpa driving the boat with DJ and Ellie, DJ and Ellie playing in the lake, Ellie riding motorcycles with her mom and dad, DJ and Ellie playing in the sand with their dads, DJ "tubing" on the dock, Ellie swimming in the lake with her mom and dad, Ellie and her dad in the lake, DJ and Uncle Ryan in the lake, and the Ryan Hall family playing in the sand.

From top left to bottom right: Me and Deej and Ellie and Brooke in West, Grandpa on the swings with DJ and in West with Ellie, DJ with his Great Grandma Hall, Ellie just chilling, Deg and DJ by the campfire, Ellie giving DJ a big hug, Ellie and Brooke getting ready for a walk, Grandma and Ellie going on a walk, the babies coloring, the babies and their dads in party hats, and the babies with Grandma's dog.

From top left to bottom right: all the boys on the water weenie, all the girls on the tubes, Ryan (and his helmet that my dad got to protect his future doctor brain - I'm not kidding) getting ready to wakeboard, Lindsey getting ready to wakeboard, Amber and Dan doing a dance on the dock, and Ryan proving he's the best skiier on the lake.

Okay kids, I collaged the pics so it wouldn't be so overwhelming, but don't worry that I didn't even share 1/4 of what I took. Oh the cabin. And since I'm a member of what I like to call the mama-razzi, most of the pics are of the babies. The cabin is filled with lake time (skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, water weenie rides), motorcycle rides, lots of big breakfasts and dinners, games and movies, and at least one trip into West Yellowstone for a visit to the Playmill Theatre. It's what one person described as "the least relaxing but most fun vacation" a person could take. We go from about 8 in the morning till at least 1 in the morning - we party hard and always wish we'd worn more sunscreen and bug spray once it's over. There's always something to fix, something to break, some bump or bruise to acquire, someone to talk to, something to eat, and some memory to make. This year marks the 40th summer my grandparents have had the cabin, so there are 40 years of Hall memories tied up here. And as I get older and appreciate things more, the more grateful I am that we have this place in our family. I know Deej is really young, but being able to share it with him makes me even more nostalgic over my favorite place on earth.

OK a quick timeout from the dialogue for some videos.

Story time. I'd like to tell you a tale now about the cabin. The one where I promised that I'd be running around in my underwear. It's time, guys. So... it was late one night. Everyone had gone to bed. Deg was downstairs washing up, and I took a very unwilling to sleep baby upstairs to try to nurse him into submission. Sidebar - there is no a/c at the cabin, so if you want your room to be cool, you open your window in the early evening and turn on a box fan and hope for the best. Well... it was hot, and I was going to get into my jammies after feeding DJ, so I just stripped down to my skivvies and nursed that baby. All was well. He was almost asleep. And then... and guys, I'm not kidding... a freaking BAT flew through a tear in the screen and into the room. And it flew around and around and around. And here I am, in my undies, feeding a baby. So I scream like I'm auditioning for the next Saw movie, which scares the crap out of an almost asleep DJ, who then starts howling. I pick up my pillow and swing it at the bat to keep it away from us. I'm yelling for Deg, the baby's crying, the bat is landing all over the room only to get back up and fly after us... I am not exaggerating, guys. I got up and tried to make my way to the door, but the bat kept blocking my way. Still swinging that pillow, we finally made it to the door, where Deg met us. He apparently hadn't heard me, so was wondering what in the hoodle I was going on about and why DJ was so upset. I tried to explain in short, panicked gasps, and he ran in to save us while I ran out into the hallway and tried to stay at the top of the stairs so as not to scar Lindsey's boyfriend, who was on the couch, by running past in only my delicates. So Deg goes in the room and towel whips the thing. It goes down, he flings the towel over it, gets some plastic cups to put it in, wraps the towel around that, takes it outside, and flings it into the night, where it flies off to its destiny. I then re-enter the room, put some pants on, and go check to see if my aforementioned panties are now brown. And that is the story you are now so glad you waited to read.

In the category of other tales, I brought cupcakes and candles and party hats so we could celebrate DJ's birthday a week early with my family. My dad's birthday is at the end of the month, so we sung to him, too. It was really cool to get to have a mini party with everyone and to get to have the memory of that. Granted, all DJ wanted to do was poke the frosting on his cupcake, but that's okay.

Last story. On the 4th, we all went out to the swings that overlook the lake to watch various fireworks and an incredible sunset from there. Having all had a turn in choir, my siblings and I sung The Star Spangled Banner in four part harmony, followed by America the Beautiful and, well, any other patriotic songs we could think of. It was just so cool and a really great way to celebrate together.

I could go on and on, but it's just so hard to explain how much fun and how amazing the cabin is. Suffice it to say that I will be forever grateful for every minute I have spent there with my family. Cabin, I'll be dreaming of you until next summer!